5 Reasons to Get Flood Insurance if Not in a Prone Area

Recommending flood insurance to homeowners outside of floodplains can be tough. If they’re not in a prone area and not required to purchase it, they may not see the need or have trouble justifying the expense. However, there are a few reasons flood insurance is still the best option for these clients.

1. If a home is in a “low-risk” flood zone, it doesn’t mean it won’t flood.

If the home is in a 100-year flood plain, there’s still a 1% chance it will flood. From 2015-2017, the Houston area experienced at least three 500-year floods. With this .2% chance of a flood in any given year, residents with those odds still dealt with flooding 3 years in a row! According to FEMA, every year more than 20% of flood insurance claims fall outside of flood zones.

After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, studies showed at least 80% of hurricane victims didn’t have flood insurance. Because 50% of those with at least a moderate risk of flooding lived outside of flood plains, they weren’t required to purchase flood insurance … and they didn’t. This left them to deal with Harvey’s aftermath on their own.

2. Development of nearby land could dramatically change the flood risk in their area.

Flood maps change over time. Changing weather patterns or dam improvements could cause a homeowner to go from being in a high-risk flood zone to a low-risk flood zone. However, let’s say a new neighborhood gets built down the street, or maybe a lot that’s been empty for years becomes a new strip mall. This means your client’s area may now become a high-risk flood zone because, in the event of something like a flash flood, there is now no place for the water to go.

3. Flooding is EXPENSIVE.

According to FEMA, damage from only one inch of water in a building will cost an owner more than $20,000, and the average cost of a flood insurance claim is around $30,000. Now consider the fact flash floods carry water between 10 and 20 feet high. If your client owns a home valued at less than $250,000 and it gets flooded, they’re likely to incur more damage than the building is worth. Does your client want to take a chance knowing this could be the cost in the event of a flood?

4. They can’t count on government disaster aid.

First, disaster relief isn’t a free gift. Government aid typically comes in the form of a loan they will have to pay back. Second, in order to qualify for a disaster loan, your client’s home has to be in a declared federal disaster area. The government makes federal disaster area declarations in less than 50% of all flooding events.

5. Flood insurance is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of water damage.

According to Mark Welstead, president of restoration firm Rainbow International, the average cost of flood insurance is $660 a year, or about $55 a month. And if your client doesn’t have a home in a flood-prone area, their cost will be less than those who do. Compared to the $30,000 average flood insurance claim, this is definitely the more affordable option.